Jol made that comment in November after seeing his side beaten 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium. Ahead of Saturday's return fixture Jol maintains his team had been bullied that day, but believes Pulis deserved credit, rather than any inferred ridicule, for it.

"In that game yes. They tried to bully us," he said. "It was annoying for me. That is what I told my players at half-time and in the second half they did it again, so nothing changed. They play a style which is probably difficult for any team to play against."

Jol added: "He (Pulis) feels that this is the way to do it and the way for him to be successful. I always admire that. I respect that. You have a lot of teams that have no style, in Europe for example.

"They play 4-3-3, 4-5-1, 4-4-2 and they change their style all the time and I don't like that. I like the people who make their choice and stick to their choice and hopefully they are successful with that."

Jol has made his managerial reputation by sending out teams intent on passing their way out of trouble. That has proved successful enough to ensure he has always finished inside the top 10 in the Barclays Premier League, during stints at Tottenham and Fulham.

And while he admits he would not replicate Pulis' style he bristled at suggestions it was an archaic formula for success.

"I could try to play like that but I haven't got the players," he said. "It is English. I always would like to play organised football that is very attractive. You look at Stoke and their main purpose is to deliver. To get the ball into the box. But I can't say that they don't play. There is not many teams with this style left and that is why Stoke is quite successful."

Fulham were boosted on the eve of the match by confirmation veteran midfielder Damien Duff has signed a one-year contract extension. Duff, who has scored three times in 22 league appearances this term, will remain at Craven Cottage until the summer of 2014.

Jol admitted the 33-year-old's signature comes as a relief amid concern he could lose a chunk of his squad in the summer. "We have 11 people who are at the end of their contract (at the end of the season)," he said. "So we have a few problems."